The statements in this section merely provide background information related to the present disclosure. Accordingly, such statements are not intended to constitute an admission of prior art.
Property owners sometimes require the use of a trailer to do light hauling on their property. However, many property owners have little storage space for a free-standing wagon or trailer to tow behind a lawn tractor, or do not wish to purchase such a wagon or trailer.
A wheelbarrow is a known device useful for an individual to haul items short distances. A typical configuration for a wheelbarrow includes a pair of planks or straight structural members that converge toward a front end of the wheelbarrow and diverge toward a rear end of the wheelbarrow. A handle can be formed on each of the planks at the rear end of the wheelbarrow. The planks can be bolted or bracketed together at the front end of the wheelbarrow. A wheel or a plurality of wheels can be bolted or bracketed to a bottom side of the planks at the front end of the wheelbarrow. A bucket or carrying tub can be bolted or otherwise affixed to top surfaces of the planks. A stand or a set of stand legs can extend from a bottom side of the planks around the middle of the planks. In operation, when a user is not using the wheelbarrow, the wheelbarrow can rest upon the wheel or wheels and the stand. When a user is using the wheelbarrow, the user lifts up on the handles, thereby increasing an angle of the planks and lifting the stand off of the ground. When used by a user, the wheel supports a portion of the weight of the wheelbarrow and the user, providing a lifting force upon the handles, supports a remaining portion of the weight of the wheelbarrow. When the stand is on the ground, the wheelbarrow is stabilized and tends to stand still. When the handles are lifted up, the wheel can roll and the wheelbarrow is mobile. Because the wheel can support some or most of the weight of a payload placed in the bucket of the wheelbarrow, a user can move a payload with a greater weight than he or she would be able to carry by hand.
A wheelbarrow with a single wheel is unstable and subject to tipping. A user lifting up on the handles provides stability to the wheelbarrow and prevents the wheelbarrow from tipping to one side or the other. A wheelbarrow with two wheels is more stable than a wheelbarrow with a single wheel, but a such a wheelbarrow can still tip, for example, when a large load makes the wheelbarrow top-heavy or when the wheelbarrow is situated upon sloped ground.